


An Unknown World

by holbark



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Cute, Eventual Romance, Fanfiction, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fred and George, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Muggle/Wizard Relations, Teen Romance, Twins, Wizarding Culture (Harry Potter), Wizarding World (Harry Potter), mlm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:53:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29020014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holbark/pseuds/holbark
Summary: Edwin Scally is a 17-year-old boy who needs a getaway, he is the black sheep of his family and he hates his life with his parents, he is desperate for a change.  What will happen once he meets two strangers with a secret? Could this be the change he is seeking?
Relationships: George Weasley/Original Character(s), George Weasley/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. The Strange Boy

Mr and Mrs Scally live a rather luxurious lifestyle, one which many crave. There is not much mystery to how they earned their fortune as they were quite the talk of the city. Mr Scally started off through psychiatry but later left his job as a well-known therapist to invest his earnings into stocks. Mr Barnaby Scally was a tall, lean, intimidating male who had what was once dark brown but now greying, slicked-back hair. While Mrs Ophelia Scally, a short, plump woman, runs a law firm, 'best in the country', she liked to remind her friends over a glass of the finest red wine at the fanciest restaurant. The only thing mysterious and unusual about their lives was their son, Edwin Scally.

Edwin often felt like an outsider in his own home. His slightly curly, light ash brown hair always sat on his head in a way that annoyed his parents, but he liked his style. His glasses sat slightly askew due to one arm of the thin-framed spectacles being broken and taped back together. Every day he would wear clothes, which his parents would describe as 'scruffy' but this did not bother him as one of his biggest wishes was to be nothing like his parents. Edwin had a deep appreciation for the simpler things in life such as plants, animals and the feeling of warmth and comfort by being with the people he loved. Of course, he did not get this feeling when around his parents, he knew that he would have to seek elsewhere for the feeling of contentment.

Edwin wished to lead a more adventurous lifestyle, he wanted to live life carefree and not have to worry about stocks and taxes and whatever else adults worry about. He wished to live in a small cottage in the countryside, as far away from the busy streets of London as possible. He daydreamed of this so often it sometimes felt real.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts of planning his very own vegetable patch, "Master Edwin, dinner will be served in 10 minutes, your parents would like you to be at the table ready".

"Thanks, Antoinette" Edwin sighed as he ruffled his hair before making his way down to an enormous dinner table. Barnaby and Ophelia were already seated at one end of the table while Edwin took a seat at the other end.

"Your mother and I have been thinking" spoke Barnaby whose voice lacked emotion. Although they were sitting quite far apart from each other, the echo in the magnificent dining hall carried his fathers low, stern voice. "We believe that it would be in your best interest to enrol in a Summer School, starting this June."

Edwin stared at his father who did not look up once while saying this but instead continued to cut the tiniest piece from his steak and examined it before delicately placing the piece in his mouth. "I don't understand? My grades were fine last year?" Edwin spluttered.

His father finally looked up at the boy and raised his eyebrow before saying, "'Fine' will not get you anywhere in life, boy"

Edwin didn't speak another word throughout dinner, in fact, he made sure to eat so fast and so messily that it would annoy his parents. He left the table as soon as his plate was empty and he locked himself in his room for the rest of the evening.

Edwin spent his night listening to his Queen vinyl and drawing, he was quite the artist but he never showed his work to anybody as he knew his parents would disapprove. He was working on a marvellous landscape drawing of rolling hills and a large forest in the distance. The drawing featured a tiny cottage in the foreground, surrounded with all sorts of wildflowers. It was the cottage from his daydreams, that he wanted so badly.

As Edwin was only 17, it would not have been the most sensible idea to move away from his family's mansion just yet. He was hoping to move out the day he hit 18 but had no idea where he would get the funds from as he knew that his parents would not be fond of his idea and would rather he followed in his mother's footsteps and work in Law.

The clock struck 2 am and Edwin still lay awake as ever, it wasn't often that he was restless but tonight was different. He lay silently for another 10 minutes before hearing a crash outside. He quickly dashed to his window to peer outside into the darkness, in the depths of his 'garden' (it was about the same size as a football pitch) he could see two tall figures and... a car? There wasn't a road on this side of the mansion, how on Earth did they manage to crash a car into the Scally's perfect hedges?

Edwin saw this as the perfect opportunity to go and investigate what had happened, he shifted his bare feet into his slippers, grabbed a torch and snuck out onto the landing. As he tiptoed past his parent's room he could hear muffled snores, he was surprised that they had not been awakened by the crash and continued to make his way to the back garden. He was outside and could now hear the two men arguing about the car and about "how mum would murder them if she found out that they had crashed in a garden belonging to Muggles".

What the heck is a "Muggle", Edwin thought as he stood hidden behind their award-winning Camellia bush display. He wanted a closer look at the men to see where they had come from as there was no sign of entry and no tyre marks leading up to the car. Just as Edwin took a step forward, a branch beneath his foot snapped.

"What was that?" the two men said in unison as they both turned around holding a stick but much like his torch had a beam of light coming from the tip. Edwin held his breath as the two men started to walk in his direction to discover the source of the noise. He suddenly felt the urge to walk out and talk to them before they reached him.

"Uh... hello" Edwin said as he raised his torch and the boys looked in his direction, "you're- uh... you're in my garden?" he stuttered as both of the tall, auburn-haired boys looked at him in shock.

"So we are!" said the man on the right with an "F" on his knitted jumper.

"Mind helping us out?" said the other with a "G" on his.

"Well... I'd rather know how you got here in the first place!" Edwin said with a smile as he could see that the two boys were around his age and posed no threat to him.

"It's kinda a long story..." said the boy with a "G" and a smirk on his face.

"Oh, don't worry, I have plenty of time" insisted Edwin as he walked closer to the two of them. "Edwin Scally" he said while extending his right arm to introduce himself.

"I'm George Weasley, and this here, is my twin brother, Fred. He is the reason you now have our Dad's most prized possession, his Ford Anglia in your back garden"

Fred nudged George in his side and argued, "It's most definitely not my fault, you were the one who suggested that we try to do a flip-"

"And you actually went along with it!" George laughed, "...Hilarious" he continued under his breath, now beginning to wheeze.

Edwin laughed along with George but did not fully understand why or how Fred would do a flip in the car. "How did you manage to flip the car? There aren't any hills for miles." He finally spoke after the laughing began to fade out.

"Well, Eddie, my dear boy-"

"It's Edwin" he corrected Fred.

Fred smirked and continued as both he and George placed a hand on Edwins back. They had their heads down to Edwin's height, one just over each of his shoulders. "Would you believe us if we told you that we're wizards?"

"Of course I wouldn't! Magic isn't real!" said Edwin with a puzzled look on his face.

"Well, that's where you're wrong!" said George above Edwin's other shoulder as he turned to face him. Both of the twins had enormous smiles on their faces, obviously amused at Edwin's bafflement. "Shall we show him, Freddie?"

They both took out their sticks which they were previously using as a torch and cast a spell which caused the car to levitate, just enough so that it would spin back around to its correct orientation. 

Edwin stood still in bewilderment, his jaw dropped and he struggled to speak. He looked up at the twins, wide-eyed and they both laughed at him and patted his back. "Told you we're wizards!" said Fred with a smirk as Edwin snapped out of the shock.

"We should probably get home before mum finds out that we've been here-"

"And crashed the car!" George added.

"Shut up George, they will never find out!"

"They always find out" George emphasised the 'always' which made it sound like they got into a lot of trouble. The twins hopped into the car and rolled down the windows to say goodbye to Edwin.

The light from the inside of the car illuminated the boys faces and Edwin could see just how identical they were, they wore matching hats and scarves, both of their faces were freckled in almost exactly the same way. The tip of their nose and cheeks were a rosy red, presumably from standing out in the cold, early spring night, their blushed faces complimented their wonderful ginger hair.

"Will I see you guys again?" Edwin said enthusiastically, his eyes darting from one twin to the other. The twins both smiled at each other then back at Edwin.

"We'll see about that, won't we Eddie boy" Fred teased.

"It's Edwin!" he crossed his arms over his chest and smirked at them both. He couldn't stay mad at them even though nobody called him Eddie.

The twins then waved and shouted their goodbyes as the car once again began to levitate and accelerate forwards and upwards before suddenly vanishing into thin air. Edwin once again stood there, staring up at the night sky in awe and amazement. He felt a cold chill pass through his body and took that as a sign to return to his bedroom.

Edwin lay awake for a majority of that night, thinking about all sorts of questions. How many wizards are there? How many has he unknowingly met? Could he become a wizard? As all these questions were racing through his head, his eyelids became heavy and he drifted off to sleep.

He slept for what felt like minutes before being woken up by his fathers booming bellows. "MY GARDEN! MY WONDERFUL GARDEN! I WILL CATCH THOSE DAMN HOOLIGANS WHO DID THIS!"

He could hear his mother trying to calm down Mr Scally, "Ohh it's okay Dear, I'm sure it is nothing the gardener can't manage", but this only seemed to make him grow angrier. It was probably the lack of shared anger between Mr and Mrs Scally that did it. Mrs Scally was more laid back than her husband, Barnaby, and almost never showed any real emotion.

Edwin, still in his bed, chuckled at his father's anger as he did not particularly care for his fathers usually pristine lawn or hedges. He also felt relieved as his father's anger confirmed that last night really had happened, he really did have an encounter with two wizards in a flying car and it wasn't all some totally bizarre dream.


	2. The Offer

Edwin spent his days wondering when he would next see the two charming boys, if ever again. He wished that they would make an appearance soon as he was set to leave for a summer school in June which was now just one month away. There was nothing that Edwin could do as neither of the boys gave him any way to contact them, all he could do was keep an eye out for an odd flying vehicle. 

At the moment, the only thing that kept Edwin occupied was his artwork, he was currently working on a watercolour piece of himself in long brown robes, a brown, droopy wizards hat and a magnificent staff. In the painting, he was walking through fields of long grass and multitudes of flowers, he was closely followed by a small gathering of wizards, which also featured two familiar redheads. He had just added a slight orange to the sky to represent the morning and the long journey ahead of the group of wizards. As he dipped his paintbrush into the now slightly dirty paint water, he heard a slight rumbling coming from inside his room. He pulled the needle up on his record player to stop the music as the rumbling grew closer. Suddenly a flash of green light erupted from his fireplace and out came the Weasley twins.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WA-?" shrieked Edwin as one of the twins put a hand over Edwin's mouth to stop the screaming.

There was a light knock on the door and all three of them turned their heads, "Master Edwin, is everything alright in there?"

The twins looked at him wide-eyed before Edwin finally spoke, "uh- yes thank you, Antoinette, there was just a bug, that's all."

"Very well Sir, have a pleasant evening." she spoke before they heard her footsteps trail off down the stone staircase.

The pair of twins let out big smiles and said in unison, "Woaah- look at the size of this place." They were both very excited to look around Edwin's bedroom due to its size, as well as the fact it was full of "muggle artefacts" as they called them. Edwin just stared at the two as he was still in shock, which was understandable considering he had just watched two men appear out of his bedroom fireplace.

"I didn't think I'd see you again" Edwin finally said to them, snapping out of shock.

"Miss us, did ya?" Fred smirked as he leant over to where Edwin was standing and pulled him into a headlock and ruffled Edwin's already messy curls.

"I suppose I did..." Edwin said quietly, his cheeks were now slightly red in colour as he felt a little embarrassed at the idea of missing two random strangers that he had only met once.

"So, who's this then?" George asked, looking down at the desk where Edwin had previously been working on his painting.

"UH- no one!" said Edwin. "It's nothing!" He attempted to block the twins off from his desk, but they were both towering over him, which made it pretty much impossible to hide anything from them both.

"Well, we, the wizarding community, that is, are definitely flattered," said Fred, holding back a giggle, "but trust me, we would never wear robes like those ones."

"-or a hat like that old thing!" George added, trailing his finger across the now dry painting, "It really is wonderful though." He sounded lost in thought. Edwin panicked as he realised that George may have discovered the two hidden redheads in the painting.

"What brings you two back here anyway?" Edwin asked as the twins were now making themselves comfortable on Edwin's four-poster bed, they both sat cross-legged on the bed and were slightly bouncing.

"Well-" George started.

"Mum has had enough of us-"

"One too many dungbombs I suppose-"

"Although really, you could never have enough!"

Edwin looked at the pair in amazement as it seemed like somehow they knew exactly what each other were going to say. "So you thought you'd bring your "dungbombs" here, then?"

"Oh we wish we thought of that, Eddie-" Edwin sighed and looked at Fred but he put on a bigger smile and continued, "But, we have actually come here to make it up to you for ruining your garden the last time you saw us!"

"And how will you be doing that?" Edwin smiled at the boys curiously.

"We thought we would invite you to our joke shop, of course!" The twins said in unison.

Of course they owned a joke shop, Edwin thought, what else? He felt excited at the offer but was also slightly confused... how on earth would they get there? It was also getting rather late, he wasn't usually one to stick to his parent's rules but he was sure that they wouldn't even notice him gone for a few hours either.

"We can see that you're confused, but don't you worry! We'll travel via the floo network and get you back here before your parents realise that you've run off with two strangers." Edwin let out a breathy laugh as he realised just how bizarre accepting this offer would be. But of course, he was going to accept, he would be out of his mind not to.

The room was silent as the twins waited in anticipation for Edwin's answer, "Let's go then!" he said excitedly. The twins jumped up off of Edwin's bed, cheered and made their way over to Edwin's bedroom fireplace.

Fred reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny pouch, he pulled out a pinch of powder and sprinkled it into the fireplace. The flames now turned a bright green and Fred stepped in. "I'll go first, Edwin will go second and George will go last, just to make sure you make it safely." These words slightly worried Edwin but he didn't let it show. He continued to watch Fred as he shouted 'Fred and George Weasley's Flat', threw down the remaining powder in his hand and he disappeared.

Although Edwin had already watched the two men appear out of his fireplace, he still found it fascinating to watch them disappear again. "Um, George..." he said so softly he was surprised that George had actually heard him.

"Yeah?" George replied, looking down at the curly-haired boy.

"What did Fred mean by 'make it safely'? It isn't dangerous is it?" He felt his cheeks increase in temperature at what may have been a silly question to ask.

George could obviously see that Edwin was worried and said, "No, it's quite safe, you'll be fine, I promise! That's just Fred's idea of a joke!" George grabbed Edwin's arm reassuringly. Edwin let out a breath and felt some tension in his body leaving as he stepped into the green flames.

"Remember to speak clearly and then throw down the powder!" said George with a smile, "you remember the destination, right?"

Edwin nodded and shouted, "'Fred and George Weasley's Flat'" as soon as the odd green powder hit Edwin's feet he felt the strangest sensation. It felt like he was floating as he could no longer feel anything beneath him but in all honesty, he was too scared to open his eyes to check, he just kept his arms crossed across his body for comfort and waited until he felt the unnerving sensation come to an end.

He suddenly felt his weight again and dared to open his eyes, he saw Fred standing in front of him with a huge smile on his face and a bucket in his hands. Fred grabbed Edwin by the elbow to assist him out of the fireplace and passed the bucket to him, "Here, just incase..."

"Incase wha-" But before he could finish his sentence, he felt a rumble in his stomach and threw his head into the bucket. A flash of emerald green erupted from the fireplace and out came George.

George glanced at Edwin and chuckled, "Poor muggles". He rubbed his hand on Edwin's back to comfort him, "Told you that you'd be alright, didn't I?" Edwin laughed, his head still deep in the bucket, no longer feeling sick but slightly embarrassed.

With his head finally out of the bucket he could take a tour of the flat. It was full of wizard inventions he thought as he noticed the moving portraits of what he could only assume was their family, he could guess from every member having the same red coloured hair. There were nine of them, including the twins, standing in front of a very odd-shaped house. Edwin came from a small family of three, him being an only child and he could not imagine having a family so big but they all looked so loving, which was the exact opposite of his family.

"We can introduce you to them if you would like?" George said as he sat down on the sofa beside where Edwin stood. He placed a strange light orange liquid on the table and indicated for Edwin to take it.

"Uh yeah, I would really love that." He smiled at the boy and sat down next to him, he picked up his drink, "what is it?" he asked.

"This is Butterbeer, a very popular drink here in the wizarding world, you lot are really missing out!" he was right, the drink tasted like heaven, it was very sweet, but Edwin did have a sweet tooth.

"My God! What else am I missing out on?" He looked up at Fred as he entered the living room, Fred just began to giggle at him. "Whaat?" Edwin said confused as he turned to look at George who also began to laugh.

"You've grown a tache mate!"

"Oh finally! I have been waiting for that to happen!" Edwin joined in with the laughing and wiped his upper lip to get rid of the butterbeer foam that the twins were laughing at.

"Shall we go down to the shop then?" Suggested George.

"Prepare yourself Eddie!" said Fred, "you're gonna love this!"


	3. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes

Edwin's mouth fell open, the number of magical items in the flat was nothing compared to the joke shop, it was full of colourful displays, some even had the twins' face on, original creations he assumed. The twins explained that he would have to see it during the day time to get the full experience of the shop. Apparently, the shop was usually crowded and had magical objects flying all around the place. They told him that the shop had only been open for a month but business was booming. "It's so... Wonderful!" he gasped.

"Thought you'd like it!" yelled Fred as he ran down to a row of small enclosures. He scooped out a tiny creature that was living inside and held it in one hand while the other was over the top. He stood in front of Edwin and slowly lifted his top hand, "This is a Pygmy Puff!"

"He's bloody obsessed with them!" joked George.

"But they're so cool!" Fred said as he gave the pygmy puff a pet and carefully placed it back in its enclosure.

"You have your own creatures too?" Edwin said in disbelief.

The twins chuckled at Edwin's reaction, "Of course we do! You didn't think that we're the only magical beings, did you?" teased George.

"It's just- it's just how come I've never seen these pink puffs before?"

"We have had plenty of enchantments put on these creatures over the years to hide them from the Muggle world!" Edwin still didn't know what exactly the Muggle world was but assumed he was part of it. "Look, I have plenty of old textbooks up in the flat, if you would like to have a look later?" George asked the boy, who was still in awe at the shop and the pygmy puffs.

"I really would love that!" said Edwin as he looked back up at the twin who had a wide smile on his face.

After approximately an hour of showing off products and causing mayhem, the three boys decided to go back up to the flat above. Edwin couldn't bear the thought of going back to his boring Muggle world but knew he had to sooner or later.

Edwin let out a mighty yawn as they entered the living room. "Jeez mate, did you want to stay here the night?" asked Fred. "You can take George's room and he'll take the sofa."

"I'm on the sofa? Why am I on the sofa?" George whined.

"C'mon Georgie, you know how messy my room-"

George cut him off by tutting at his brother, "that's very true, you need to sort it out! You would think that someone let a troll loose in there!" Fred just laughed in response.

Edwin also laughed a little at this comment even though he was not fully familiar with trolls. "I would love to stay tonight, and I really don't mind taking the sofa."

"Don't be ridiculous Edwin! You're our guest! Now, follow me." George instructed as he brushed past Edwin and led the way through the hall, to a cosy-looking, decent sized room.

Edwin looked around the room, the walls were supporting posters and pennants for a "Gryffindor" team, he wasn't sure if he had ever heard of such a place but saying that, he wasn't a very sporty person. There were tiny fairy lights all around the place and really gave the room its cosy feeling. There were shelves full of books he had never heard of on bizarre topics such as, 'A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration', 'Wanderings with Werewolves' and 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them'.

George could see Edwin looking at the books, "Oh, that's the book I was gonna give you." He said as he effortlessly reached to the top shelf and pulled down the slightly worn down book. "You'll find some real beauties in here!" He smiled as he flicked through the pages.

"Thank you, George, really," Edwin said, beaming up at the boy who must have been a whole head taller than him.

"No worries, bud. Now go get some sleep, you look exhausted!" George quietly laughed as he left the room. He peaked back in, "Oh and Edwin... If you find any sweets laying around... don't eat them!"

As the trip and the overnight stay were unexpected, Edwin had not packed pyjamas so instead just slept in his boxers and threw his clothes on to the floor beside him, he placed his glasses onto a bedside table and lay in the bed. He wondered if the bed was magical too as it was very comfortable and he fell asleep almost instantly.

He awoke to laughter coming from the living room, but he could tell that it was still night time and attempted to fall back asleep. He was tossing and turning until he eventually decided that a glass of water is what he needed and went to reach for his glasses but upon doing so he knocked them to the floor. He patted the floor in an attempt to find them when his hand brushed across what felt like a magazine. He placed the magazine onto the bedside table as he wasn't sure if it was there before Edwin knocked his glasses off. He finally gave up on locating his glasses and thought it would just be easier to find them in the morning. After retrieving a glass of water from the kitchen he got back to George's bed and it seemed to do the trick as he fell asleep rather quickly.

A light knocking on the door woke Edwin the next morning and calls from Fred outside saying, "Eddieee, come on mate, it's eight-thirty, we should get you home before we open the shop!"

"Fuck, give me a second!" Edwin shouted back as he scrambled out of bed. He reached for the bedside table and remembered that his glasses were on the floor somewhere. He found them annoyingly fast now that it was light and he sat on the edge of the bed to allow himself to fully wake up. Now that he could see clearly, he glanced at the magazine he found that night, it appeared to be a muggle male modelling magazine. He didn't go snooping through it as he didn't want to invade George's privacy. He put on his trousers, sweater, socks and shoes that he had thrown to the floor the night before and rushed to find Fred in the living room.

"George's just showering so I'll have to take you home," Fred said. He was wearing a light brown suit with a dark yellow waistcoat and an orange tie. It was like no uniform that would be seen in Muggle shops. "I'll come with you, you go first and I'll follow to check if you're ok," Edwin nodded and stood next to the fireplace, clutching George's copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Fred sprinkled a little floo powder over the burning fireplace and they watched the flames turn green. "In you pop," said a smiling Fred. Edwin stepped in and grabbed a small handful from Fred's pouch.

"Edwin Scally's Bedroom" he shouted and the odd sensation took over his body once more. It was not as bad as the first time he travelled through the magical fireplaces but he still came out the other end feeling rather queasy. He stepped out of the fireplace to give room for Fred to come out but he never did. Instead, he heard him call out his name but couldn't see him anywhere.

"Down here, you buffoon!" Edwin looked down at the fireplace and could make out Fred's face in the burning coal.

"Oh, God! What happened? Are you OK?" Edwin worried that he hadn't stepped out of the fireplace soon enough and Fred was now trapped.

"Yes, yes I'm fine!" He laughed. "I really should have explained, but maybe next time!" Edwin nervously laughed along. "I've got to go, the customers are waiting! By the way, you have soot on your face!" and with that, the coals fell back to their original position and the flames returned to the usual orange.

Edwin rushed over to the bathroom hoping to go unseen as he wouldn't have been able to explain the black powder he was covered in. He did so successfully and washed his face and dashed down to the dining room for breakfast.

His parents sat at one end of the table, nose deep into a newspaper, barely acknowledging their son. Edwin didn't mind and sat in his seat, scooping large amounts of porridge into his mouth, turns out he was starving after all the excitement from his trip to the wizarding world.

"Taken an interest in sport?" his father asked. A puzzled Edwin looked up at him. His father raised an eyebrow at him and pointed a finger at his sweater.

Edwin glanced down and realised that it wasn't his sweater at all, he must have picked up one of George's in his panicked state this morning. "Uh, yeah." He mumbled, he was unable to explain "Quidditch" and hoped they would leave the conversation at that.

"Horrid, tatty, old thing, Edwin." His mother said with a disgusted look on her face.

Good job it's not actually his, Edwin thought. But in all honesty, he quite liked it. Although he knew that he would have to return it soon.

"Go and get dressed into something presentable, Edwin. Mr Thompson should be here soon." He had forgotten that his tutor was coming today, he was lucky that he had returned home so early as he had only just managed to finish his breakfast in time.

Edwin sighed at his mother and left the table to get dressed. He took off the sweater and placed it with the textbook George had borrowed him in a drawer at his desk. He smiled at the sight of the two objects in his drawer, it was like he had a piece of magic with him.


	4. Chapter 4

May the 31st fell on a Friday that year. It was his 18th birthday today but all he could think about was the fact that he was to depart for summer school tomorrow. His parents never bought him gifts that he truly liked but instead got him a new suit. He knew that he would never wear it but thanked them out of politeness. Antoinette gave Edwin some watercolour paints in private, away from his parents, it seemed like she knew him better than his parents did, he thanked her sincerely and went straight to his room to try them out. His room was almost bare now as he had packed everything for summer school, he didn’t own many belongings, about two trunks full, if that. He didn’t want to pack most of the things his parents had gifted him over the years and his new suit was now added to the pile of things he would not even consider taking.

He spent his day talking to family members he barely knew as they were all invited over for a celebration meal. After an exhausting day of socialising, he returned to his bedroom for the night and started to open the cards he had received during the family gathering. He put up his cards on the shelves so his walls looked a little less bare for the night, and put all the money from inside his cards into his wallet. He had enough to buy himself some new vinyl, books, and new clothes with some left over to save.

He lay on his bed, reading Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, this was his third time reading the textbook in a month, he was obsessed with learning about the magical creatures, he had a few favourites, they were mainly dragons with a few exceptions. He loved the Matagot, even though they were native to France so doubt that he would be able to see any in London. He also loved the look of the Zouwu, a gigantic, elephant-sized cat-like creature, native to China. He found them a lot more interesting than the Muggle world creatures and found it unfair.

As he turned the page he heard a loud BANG which startled him and soon followed a “SURPRISE!” He was ecstatic to see the two familiar redheads back again in his bedroom. 

“Happy Birthday Mate!” said Fred as he handed over a small, badly-wrapped gift. He opened it to find a selection of magical sweets.

He looked in awe as he rummaged through the box, “thank you so much, Fred, this is amazing!” He pulled out a purple box and on the package, it read ‘Chocolate Frog’. “I- Uh- love it and all but a chocolate frog? Am I supposed to eat this?”

The twins laughed and Fred replied, “Of course you are! What else are you supposed to do with chocolate?!” Edwin slowly opened the box, he could feel something moving inside… but surely it wasn’t alive, he thought. He squealed a little as the frog burst out at the opening, jumping away before Fred managed to catch it. “Here! Now bite it before he goes again!” Both Fred and George had massive smiles on their faces, he could tell that his reactions to the magical food were amusing to them. He slowly bit into the frog, he felt wrong for doing so, it didn’t seem right, but after chewing he realised that it really was just chocolate. 

“You can open mine now!” George said, nudging Fred out of the way a little. He handed over a neatly wrapped box, complete with a ribbon, from George and proceeded to open it.

“This one won’t jump away will it?” Edwin joked.

“No, no! Just opened it!” George’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Edwin opened the box to reveal a golden wristwatch. 

“George I-”

“It’s a year late but I thought you would appreciate it!” He smiled at the boy, “When wizards come of age, at 17, it is traditional to be gifted a watch. Obviously, you’re not a wizard but we can see how much the magical world fascinates you and thought it would be a great gift.” George was still smiling but was also now slightly red in the cheeks.

“Muggles come of age at 18!” Edwin claimed. He hoped that they would appreciate his use of wizarding vocabulary. 

“What have you lot got to come of age for?” Fred said with a confused look on his face.

“Wait… what are you guys talking about?” Edwin said he started to get flustered. 

“We’re talking about when it’s legal for wizards to use magic outside of school! You keep your dirty mind to yourself, Mister!” Fred said as he patted Edwin on the back and they all began to laugh. 

Although Edwin was slightly embarrassed at the misunderstanding, he felt comfortable with the boys and he was glad that they found it funny. It was likely that they would tease him about it but he didn’t really mind, he was just happy to be in their company. Edwin didn’t have any friends other than the twins as he had been homeschooled for as long as he can remember.

“How did you two know that it was my birthday anyway?”

“Well, we did pop in earlier, but the room was empty apart from a card from your parents,” George explained.

“Yeah, it was a bit embarrassing shouting SURPRISE at nothing! We left quickly after we saw the card to get you presents from us.”

“Why are you packed up, anyway?”

Edwin sighed and looked at the pair, “My bloody parents are sending me to a summer school.” He slumped back on to his bed and the twins did the same, one on either side of him.

“I thought you guys came of age at 18?” said Fred.

A puzzled Edwin and George looked at him, and both said, “Meaning?”

“Meaning that you can do whatever you want? Right?” Fred said looking at them as if the solution was staring them right in the face. In a way, it kind of was.

But Edwin gazed back, still confused. 

“C’mon mate, you can stay with us!” he said jumping up off of the bed.

Edwin pondered on the thought, he really did love visiting the flat last time he went and it meant that he wouldn’t have to see his parents for a while. His parents… how on Earth would they react? Their son has run away with two men neither of them had ever met before... Would they even care?

He stood up from his bed and began to walk around the room, the twins followed him up and down and up and down. The silence was tense and Edwin had finally come to his decision. “I know what I want to do.” He said, stopping in his tracks and the twins almost bumped into him. 

“Go on, tell us!” the twins almost yelled with an eager look on their faces.

But Edwin said nothing. He walked over to his desk and got out a piece of paper and began to write, he folded up the letter and placed it into an envelope.

“I accept your offer,” he said, finally cracking a smile. The boys began to cheer and jump around, “BUT- George can’t be staying on the sofa the whole time!” 

“Ahh, so you want to be roommates?” Fred winked and smirked at Edwin. “Got it, got it! If you need me out of the way, just let me kno-OWW! What was that for?” his face was now in a fake pout, he knew exactly what he was doing and why both Edwin and George had punched him on an arm each.

“We’ll sort it out once we get to the flat, you all packed Eddie?” George said, smiling down at the shorter of the three.

He could feel that his cheeks were a lot warmer than usual and his stomach seemed to be full of butterflies fighting to get out as a strip of lighting from outside Edwin’s window revealed that George was looking rosy-cheeked too.

“Uh-Y-Yeah” he managed to choke out. He took one last glance around at his bedroom, he had spent the past 18 years of his life in this room, although he enjoyed being in it, it didn’t bring the best memories. Maybe it really was time for a change. “I’m ready!” He smiled at the boys.

“You lovebirds make me sick”, Fred teased and got a kick in the leg from George in return. They picked up a trunk of Edwin’s each and clung onto Edwin’s elbow with their free hands. “Hold on tight, Edwin! We do not want to be messing this up!”

With a whoosh of wind and a BANG, the three boys and their possessions had vanished from Edwin Scally’s bedroom for the last time.


	5. Sleeping Arrangements

The sensation Edwin had just experienced was not something he wanted to go through ever again. He felt as if his whole body had been squeezed through the thinnest tube ever while also twisting and turning, he had lost all sense of direction and would have fallen to his knees once he reached the twins flat if it weren’t for them both gripping so tightly on to his arms. His stomach felt like it was still in another dimension, he felt very queasy but it wasn’t enough to make him throw up, he didn’t want to feel the same embarrassment he did when he first arrived through the Floo network. He shuddered at the thought and Fred patted him on the shoulder.

“Well done mate! You handled that really well!” Edwin gave Fred a smile. Fred’s eyes widened as he saw how pale Edwin had become. “Better get you off to bed mate” he smiled back down at Edwin.

“So… Sleeping arrangements… Well, I’m in my bed! You decide the rest! Night boys!” and with that, Fred dashed to his room, laughing all the way.

“Prick” George laughed. “Do you fancy anything to drink? It is your birthday after all, and some sugar might be good for you.”

“That would be lovely,” Edwin replied he was still shaking his head at Fred’s sudden departure.

George returned from the kitchen rather promptly with two bottles of butterbeer and handed one to Edwin who was now slumped onto their sofa.

George didn’t sit down just yet, he was standing over next to his massive collection of muggle records, flicking through them until he found the perfect one. He finally pulled out Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and carefully placed it onto the turntable, he put the volume low enough so that they could talk without it being too distracting but loud enough that they could enjoy it during pauses in the conversation.

They spent an hour or so talking about the differences between growing up as a Muggle and growing up in a Wizarding family. Both boys were intrigued by each other’s life story. But Edwin thought that George’s was a lot cooler, he grew up casting spells, flying brooms and playing magical pranks on fellow students and even professors by the sound of it. Edwin had grown up alone, he made his drawings and had additional lessons from his parents on how to act like a true gentleman. He never took interest in these ‘life lessons’. Not one bit. But Edwin carried on talking about his dull life as George sat on the same sofa but on the opposite side to Edwin and gazed at him as if he were daydreaming but Edwin could tell that he was listening through the never-ending questions he had about Muggle life.

Edwin had now finished his second bottle of butterbeer and he started to feel a little hazy. He was unsure as to whether butterbeer had any actual alcohol content as if it did, the sweetness of the liquid definitely overpowered the taste of everything else. Anything George was saying had now become a slur of nonsensical words, he could feel his eyes becoming heavy and drifted off to sleep.

Edwin had later awoken to the shutting of the bathroom door from across the flat. He opened his eyes and a stream of sunlight hit his eyes causing him to squint and move around on the sofa to avoid the harsh light. He felt stiff, most likely from the awkward sleeping position he had been in all night. He was now curled up in the corner of the sofa, he sleepily rubbed his eyes and realised that George had also fallen asleep there. He looked like he was sleeping in a lot more comfortable position than Edwin had and he was slightly jealous.

He stood up to relieve the tension in his back and neck. As he stretched and twisted, he found a blanket which he had apparently been sat on all night. He threw it over the sleeping boy and shuffled through to the kitchen.

He yawned as he searched for a mug in the small kitchen, he was desperate for a coffee. He opened and closed each cupboard door until a voice behind him said,

“Alright, sleepyhead?” It was Fred, he looked fully awake as he plonked a couple of slices of bread into what looked like a very old toaster. Apparently charmed to make the toast just how Fred liked within a matter of seconds for efficiency. Edwin watched as a butterknife flew through the air, followed by a block of butter and began spreading itself on to the toast. Edwin was too tired to process any of this happening.

“Do you guys have coffee?” Edwin said, holding back a yawn.

“Nah mate, that’s just a muggle drink,” Fred said with a mouth full of toast. “But we do have tea!” he said after swallowing.

“It’ll have to do!” Edwin laughed. Fred directed him to the cupboard containing mugs and Edwin took out a couple. He made tea for himself and George and took it through to where the sleeping boy still lay.

He put the cup onto the coffee table in front of him, not wanting to disturb his sleep just yet. While they didn’t seem to have much technology in the flat and instead relied on magic to do chores such as vacuuming and ironing, they did own a rather large television. He switched it on using the remote and was surprised to see muggle channels.

Fred entered the living room, now in his work suit, the same one Edwin saw him in last time he was here at their flat. He sat on an armchair opposite, watching the muggle TV programme. Edwin wasn’t too interested in it, he had seen it all before but kept it on for Fred’s sake. Fred had cast a charm on the three mugs of tea to ensure that they stay at a temperature that the drinker enjoys. ‘Now this... is fascinating’ Edwin thought.

As advertisements interrupted the programme, Fred realised the time and groaned as he got up from the armchair. “I’ll be opening the shop in 20 minutes. Looks like Sleeping Beauty over here will be having the day off! Get him to take you around Diagon Alley.” He then muttered something about going to get someone called Ron to work with him today and disappeared through the roaring emerald green flames.

Fred shouting his destination seemed to have finally woken up George. George looked at Edwin and whispered a “hey” as he grabbed the blanket that was draped over him and began to close his eyes again.

“I don’t think so!” Edwin said and grabbed the other side of the blanket and tugged it off of the taller and much stronger boy.

“I’m tired, Eddie” whined George.

“Come on, get up! I’ve made you tea and Fred has promised me that you’ll show me around Diagon Alley today!” Edwin said, his eyes sparkled from the excitement of wandering around new magical places.

“But, I’m working today-”

“Fred has gone to get someone called Ron, I think?”

Edwin was almost positive that he heard George swear under his breath as he scrambled up from the sofa and dashed to his bedroom.

Who the bloody hell was Ron? Edwin constantly had on his mind for the past 10 minutes, George had only just reemerged from his bedroom and let Edwin know that his two trunks were in there for when he was ready to get dressed.

He took this as a hint to get ready himself and went to find his trunks. As he was putting on his socks, he heard Fred and Ron arrive through the Floo Network and the three boys were chatting away.

“You alright mate? Fred has told me that you weren’t feeling too well.” He assumed this was Ron’s voice as it was unfamiliar to him.

“No idea what it could be, hangover, perhaps.” George joked.

Edwin’s curiosity took over him and he peeked his head outside through the door. He looked at the three boys, there were all tall and possessed the same red hair. He most definitely looked like a family member, most probably a brother, Edwin assumed, due to his age. He continued to put on a sweater and trousers and wondered why George felt so worried about his brother coming over.

His shoes were still next to the sofa, he barely moved from there at all last night. He sat down to put them on as his balance was awful, George stood in the doorway, leaning on the side, waiting for him. He looked gorgeous, a brown flannel shirt over a white t-shirt, black jeans and converse shoes to match, a brown beanie on his head and a bright smile on his face.

Gorgeous? Had he really just thought that he was gorgeous?

Edwin wasn’t ashamed of his sexuality. Although he had never talked to anyone about it before. While many would claim that his attraction to men was a sin, it didn’t bother him. He had dealt with years of not caring what his parents thought of him for many years to give a fuck.

He just never expected to fall so fast.

* * *

Diagon Alley was amazing, they had to exit through the back of the flat as George explained that he had to pull a sickie. Of course, Edwin already knew this and followed him out of the shop and onto the street.

George gave general directions to all sorts of different shops but let Edwin lead the way and decide where to go next. Unfortunately for Edwin, as he was a muggle, he wasn’t able to go to Ollivanders or go to the Apothecary, he didn’t exactly need ingredients for potions.

But he did enjoy seeing the magical creatures at Magical Menagerie, George distracted the owner by pretending to be interested in Giant Purple Toads while Edwin got to look at the real-life Kneazles. He had, of course, read all about them in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and was so excited to actually meet one. He wondered if he could have one as a pet, why else would they be here? That was a question to ask George later.

He also enjoyed Flourish and Blotts as he could find more books on specific magical creatures or on Wizarding history. He would love to learn all about Wizards and their lifestyle, by the looks of the thick, heavy books, wrapped in a leather case, there was a lot to learn about. As Edwin was yet to convert his muggle money into wizards money, George bought Edwin the couple books that he was after.

After having lunch at a nearby cafe, they visited Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, Edwin went for the safe choice of chocolate, whereas George went with an odd choice of pumpkin flavour ice-cream. He noticed that the ice-cream never seemed to melt and he began to question whether it was really ice-cream at all!

“I’ll have to take you around Muggle London!” Edwin said in-between licks of his ice-cream.

“Yeah, and you can take me shopping next time!” George replied with a great smile on his face.

“I said that I’ll pay you back as soon as I figure out how your weird money works!” Edwin said back and punched George lightly on the arm.

The pair were laughing and made eye contact for moments longer than usual and Edwin felt his heart beat faster. Edwin was the one to look away first, he wondered how long they would have been gazing at each other if he were to wait for George to look away first.

“Shall we head back to the flat?” George said, now looking around at the street which was steadily getting busier.


	6. Rule Breakers

As soon as they returned from Diagon Alley, Edwin began one of his books that he had bought that day. But he just could not get past the first page, he had so many thoughts of which he could not control or get out of his head. Was George in love with him too?

The gentle thumps of approaching footsteps snapped Edwin out of his distracting thoughts and he peered towards the door leading to the shop. Fred had finished work for the night and was chatting away to Ron about business. He guessed, anyway.

The door finally swung open to reveal the two brothers in their work uniforms, “Hiya, Eddie!” Fred cheered, after spotting the boy, curled up into the armchair with an enormous book on this lap. “You alright? Where’s George?”

Edwin’s eyes widened and replied, “Yeah, I’m all good! Think George is still in bed though…”

Fred instantly remembered that George was supposedly ill that day and that’s why Ron had to cover his shift. “Better go see how that tosser is! Ron and I were thinking of grabbing a takeaway tonight, maybe a few drinks while we’re all here!”

Edwin nodded at the thought of food, his stomach rumbled but only so he could hear it. How on earth did wizards get takeaway anyway?

“Ron, sit down, get chatting, don’t be rude!” Fred joked and took him by the shoulders and guided him to a seat. “This is Edwin, he’s a year older than you and he’ll be staying with us for a while.”

Ron nodded in acknowledgement and shuffled awkwardly in his seat. It appeared as though social interaction wasn’t a strong point of his. “So..Uh… I haven’t seen you at school, have I? What house are you in?” His ears progressively turned red as he started asking Edwin questions.

“House?”

“Oh, he’s not in Hogwarts, Ron. He’s a Muggle!” Fred said as he was about to leave the room.

“Why the bloody hell have you got a Muggle sitting in your living room?!” said Ron, he looked as though he was in shock.

Maybe this is why George was acting nervous around him this morning. Does his family hate muggles? Surely Fred wouldn’t have introduced him to Ron if he hated muggles so much.

“Mum’s gonna have a right go at you, they’re not supposed to know about us!” said Ron, he now looked like he was in a state of panic as though Edwin was some sort of dangerous creature nesting in the corner of the living room. Edwin didn't really appreciate being talked about as if he wasn't too, sitting in the room.

“Ronnie, you know what we’re like with rules… they basically don’t exist!” Fred didn’t seem to worry at all about Ron’s reaction. “You’re totally overthinking it, mate.”

Ron and Edwin now sat alone in the living room, Edwin was still confused about the conversation between the brothers and wanted to know more.

“What do you mean I’m not supposed to know about you?”

Ron looked up at Edwin and sighed, “Well, there’s a law in the Wizarding World which states that Muggles should remain totally oblivious to the Wizarding World, realistically, Fred and George should have casted a spell on you so that you would forget about our existence!”

“Oh…”

“Yeah…”

They remained sat in awkward silence until the twins returned to the living room, just 5 minutes after Edwin’s and Ron’s brief chat, but it felt like a lifetime.

The three brothers were now rambling away about business, Quidditch and whatever else sprung to mind. Mid-conversation there was a knocking, but it was too light to be at the door. This was a light tapping on a window, a delivery owl had appeared, clinging on to a bag full of food. Fred jumped up from his seat and accepted the delivery from the owl, gave him a treat and returned the owl with money for the food.

“FOOD’S ARRIVED” Fred bellowed from the kitchen. He balanced the food boxes on top of each other and brought them through to the other three starving boys. He conjured plates for the four of them and began opening each box. “Help yourself, Gentlemen.”

One box contained pizza, which had already been sliced and divided into smaller boxes. Presumably, for the owl's sake, God knows how it would manage to bring a muggle sized pizza box across the town. One box had a bag of fries inside and another had chicken wings in some sort of brown, sticky sauce. Edwin was relieved to see that the takeaway food was similar to that he would get back in the muggle world.

Once all the food was devoured, along with a few beers each, the conversation became a lot slower. Ron mumbled something about having to get back home before their mother started to worry about him. Edwin wasn’t sure if she would be too pleased about Ron returning home tipsy but this didn’t seem to be too much of a problem as the boys all waved him goodbye as he stepped into the fireplace.

Not long after Ron's departure, Fred nodded off on the armchair. Edwin felt bad as he was probably knackered from working all day while he got George to take him on a fun day out around Diagon Alley.

“Psst… Edwin” George whispered from across the sofa. “Come with me”.

Edwin followed George as they both tiptoed out of the living room and into George’s bedroom. “Thought we could talk in private here” George smiled at Edwin before taking a seat on the edge of his bed. He patted the bed next to where he sat and Edwin sat next to him, cross-legged and more to the centre of the bed.

“What did you want to talk about?” Edwin pondered, looking at the slightly more tipsy boy sitting across from him.

“Well, what did you think of Ron?” He said, he looked nervous.

Edwin was unsure how to respond. “Yeah, he seems nice… I’m just worried about his stance on muggles though…” he said slowly as if he was expecting George to react angrily.

“I think he’s just being cautious, the rules are quite strict.”

“So… why- why am I here?” Edwin couldn’t bear the thought of leaving the Wizarding world behind… forgetting all about it, it just could not happen. The thought of this brought a lump to his throat and a stinging to his eyes.

“I’m just gonna have to tell you,” George said, he was now looking less nervous and more uncomfortable.

“Please don’t make me leav-”

“I like you, Edwin”

“What?” Edwin was no longer begging to stay but was instead now confused about the situation. He seemed to be confused a lot nowadays.

George began to turn a deep shade of red, “I think I like you Edwin” he said bravely. “Like-” he paused. It now looked like George was the one with tears forming. “I don’t know, I’ve never felt like this towards anyone before and I-”

Edwin cut him off with a delicate kiss to his lips.

“I like you too, George,” Edwin said reassuringly as he pulled away.

George pulled the smaller boy into an embrace and buried his head into Edwin's shoulder. Edwin could hear light sniffles from the boy and he just rubbed his back to comfort him.

Edwin was less drunk than George was, and decided that it was probably best to get him to bed. He told George to get into his pyjamas as Edwin went to fetch a glass of water from the kitchen for him. He returned to see George already in bed and almost asleep. Edwin placed the glass on the bedside table and George lightly grabbed his leg.

“Stay here tonight” Edwin could only just make this out but agreed to his request.

He too undressed, leaving him in just his boxers and carefully climbed into the bed, by George's side.

“I love you,” said a sleepy George as he swung his arm over Edwin and squeezed him in closer.

Edwin could tell that this was just the alcohol talking and replied with, “Get to sleep, George.”

Edwin heard an indistinct mumble from George. He felt George’s great arms feel heavier across his chest and guessed that he had finally fallen asleep.


	7. Heatwave

A couple of weeks had passed since the two boys admitted their feelings for each other. It was now late June and the weather became a lot warmer, there was a heatwave predicted to hit London at any moment and it was supposedly going to last for a fortnight. 

“Why don’t I take this week off, and you and Edwin take the week after that off so we can all enjoy the sunshine and keep the shop running!”

“Fred... You’re so smart!” George said as he high fived his twin.

Edwin was sitting at the breakfast table and interrupted their cheering, “Do you really think Ron is going to be happy working through the heatwave, surely he’d want to have time to enjoy himself too?”

The cheering stopped. 

“Hmm...”

“Good point…”

“How about… Edwin, you can work in the shop rather than just hiding in the storeroom? You are finally promoted from the stockroom!” He patted Edwin on the back, causing him to choke on his morning coffee a little.

Edwin smiled at Fred’s enthusiasm and the twins returned to celebrating the opportunity of getting some time off work. Although Edwin wasn’t too sure that he was keen on the idea of being in the storefront with George. He would sometimes watch him while he worked and it seems like a lot of magic is involved, obviously, Edwin wouldn’t be as good as the twins were. But, if it meant that they all got some time to relax then it would all be worth it.

*** 

Edwin was in for a shock on the morning of his first day of working at Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes when he entered the kitchen to find a man he had never met before helping himself to the contents of the fridge. 

“...Hello?” Edwin bravely said.

“Mm-hi!” the man replied, mouth full of food. After swallowing whatever he was eating he smiled at Edwin and put out his hand to greet him, “Lee Jordan, a good friend of Fred and George!”

He took his hand and shook it over the breakfast table, “Edwin Sca-”

“AHA! Say no more, kid. Fred has been telling me all about you!”

“He has?” Edwin said with a clearly puzzled expression.

“Of course! You’re the guy who met them after they crashed their car into your garden, and they kept finding ways to surprise you and then it was your birthday and they brought you back here to the Wizarding World because our Georgie had a little crush on you…” he had a massive grin on his face as he said this in what seemed like one breath. He took another mouthful of the food he had taken from the fridge.

Edwin felt his cheeks rise in temperature which is one of the last things he needed with the heatwave now completely taking over London. 

“Ah, you’ve met Lee, then?” Fred said as he too entered the room, smothering suncream on his face. He had a rucksack on his back, and he was dressed as though he was about to go on holiday.

“Yeah, we were just talking about you,” Edwin smiled. “Where are you off to, anyway? Spain by the looks of it.” 

Fred chuckled, “We’re going camping for the week, apparently some really nice coastal campsites in Wales!” 

“COME ON EDWIN, TIME TO OPEN!” George shouted from the other side of the flat. 

He finished off his cup of coffee and dashed out of the flat after saying goodbye to the two boys. 

“Are you sure that you want me to work up here?” Edwin asked as he and George opened up the doors, letting in the stream of customers.

“Of course I do! You’ll be brilliant, I promise.” George reassuringly shook Edwin by the shoulder gently.

As soon as Edwin moved into Diagon Alley, he took his spare time learning all about the twins’ products. Although he wasn’t entirely sure how exactly they worked, he did his best to ensure that he could recommend the best product to each customer. Edwin thought it would be safer to stay behind the till, their complex money system was as confusing as ever but he was slowly getting used to it after spending a month in the Wizarding World. Every so often he would creep from behind the register to display the latest Weasley products, he was a fan of the Skiving Snackbox although he wasn’t entirely sure why someone would purposefully make themselves sick, he found it rather amusing just how many they sold.

As it approached midday, with a wave of his wand, George flipped over the sign in the door to tell the customers that they were on a lunch break. The boys finally had a moment to breathe and rest their feet. George summoned premade sandwiches from the flat to the shop’s office, they both wolfed these down in a matter of seconds.

“God, I needed that” Edwin laughed, he was slumped onto a sofa they had in the office, probably for work breaks like these, Edwin thought.

George sat beside him, placed his arm around Edwin and tilted his head onto Edwin’s shoulder. “You’re doing really well so far, the customers love you!” he said, gripping tighter to Edwin’s side. 

“I wish we could just stay here”

“I mean… we could” George raised an eyebrow at him.

Edwin lifted up George’s head from his shoulder and kissed him, George kissed him back. Edwin lifted his leg over George’s lap to straddle him and George glided his hand through Edwin’s hair to the back of his head to pull him in deeper. Edwin had one hand cupping George’s face and one was slowly making its way down to the collar of his shirt. He began to unbutton it, George pulled his lips away from Edwin’s and gasped, “I thought you wanted to take things slow?”

“I do, this is just a bit of fun.” Edwin smiled. He playfully pinched one of George’s cheeks and he pouted in return. His lips a couple of shades pinker than usual. 

“We should really open the shop back up again” Edwin suggested. 

“Fred will never find out if we just take the rest of the day off” George replied, he smirked.

“Stop messing around! Come on!” Edwin gave a final kiss and stood up, he made sure that he looked presentable in a nearby mirror. 

“Uh- y-you go open up, I’ll be just a moment, promise!” George said, not showing any attempt of getting up to go back to work.

“Bloody men” Edwin winked at the boy as he left to open the shop back up. He wasn’t that innocent, he knew exactly why George needed a moment alone. But wished he didn’t have to be the only worker on the shop floor. 

It didn’t take long for passersby to notice that the shop had reopened. Edwin greeted them all with a smile and directed them to their pranking needs. It wasn’t too long after that George had reappeared and took over from Edwin on the presenting of the products and Edwin returned to behind the register, where he felt a lot more comfortable.

The hustle and bustle of the busy magical street died down as the clock approached six o’clock and the shop was once again closed. George performed a few spells to ensure everything was locked, put in their rightful position and cleaned.

Edwin headed straight for the shower once they had returned to the flat, he was relieved to get out of the tight suit and into a loose pair of shorts and t-shirt. He joined George on the sofa and watched the TV. He had no interest in what was on TV and almost fell asleep.

“What are we having for dinner?”

“Dunno? Something easy, probably. I’m bloody exhausted!”

“You’re exhausted? I do that every day!” George lightly nudged him in the side, “Also, we still have six days of that until we get a week off.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me!” Edwin chuckled, he waved his hand at George dismissively.

The following week was the same every day, the same flow of customers, same sandwiches for lunch, same closing time, same routine. Edwin had thoroughly enjoyed himself working alongside George, but he could not wait for a well-deserved break.


End file.
